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Midnight Clear declared for tonight

January 20, 2011

Midnight Clear declared for tonight

The Office of Physical Plant (OPP) at Penn State's University Park campus has declared a Midnight Clear for tonight (Jan. 20). As a result, parking will be restricted in surface parking lots from midnight to 7 a.m. on Jan. 21, with some exceptions. According to weather reports, snowfall will begin at about 5 p.m. today and will end at 5 a.m. tomorrow. Total accumulation is expected to be between 2 and 4 inches, with heaviest snowfall occurring between 7 p.m. and midnight.

OPP has outlined the following plan:

Road crews: Crews will presalt roads, hills and other selected areas this afternoon. A salt truck will be on duty until 11 p.m. today, and will resume operation at 4 a.m. tomorrow, in order to have campus ready for business. The entire crew will report at midnight to plow parking lots and roadways.

-- lot Red A, west of Atherton Street, in a row of spaces located directly west of the Earth and Engineering Sciences Building;

-- lot Orange H, in the center section located between the Land and Water Research Building and the Materials Research Laboratory, and also in the fourth row of spaces from Hastings Road between the Forest Resources Laboratory and the Research Center.

-- areas with fenced parking compounds, such as Fleet Operations, the Office of Physical Plant back lot and Bryce Jordan Center Orange L South lot;

-- all farm areas.

Parking will be restricted from midnight to 3 a.m. only in the following areas:

-- lot Red A, with the exception of the location listed above;

-- the section of Lot Orange U west of University Support Building I, north of the driveway;

-- a section of Lot Orange O.

Employees with a valid faculty/staff permit reporting to work early may park in these areas beginning at 3 a.m. For those who hold commuter permits, Lot 44 (Jordan East) and Stadium West are not restricted during a midnight clear. However, parking in either lot from 2 to 4 a.m. always is prohibited.

Departments with University vehicles need to move them into one of the parking decks before midnight tonight. Oversized vehicles should be moved to one of the overnight parking areas listed above. If it is not possible to move to a designated overnight parking area, special provisions can be made by contacting the Parking Office at 814-865-1436 or parking@psu.edu.

The East Bay (the section closest to Bigler Road) on the ground floor of the East Deck has been reserved for oversized vehicles that do not fit into other garages on campus. The ground floor of the East Deck will accommodate vehicles up to 8 feet, 2 inches in height. Vehicles that normally had to remain in one of the approved surface areas because of roof racks, truck caps etc. now can be parked in the East Deck.

Signs have been posted in the East Deck reserving the East Bay (closest to East Halls) for oversized vehicles. Once the signs are posted regular vehicles (less than 7 feet in height) are prohibited from parking in the reserved area and must park in another portion of the garage.

When parked in the garages during a Midnight Clear event, all ADA parking regulations remain in effect. Vehicles parked in handicapped-designated parking spaces must display a valid, state-issued HP license plate or placard.